It all started in Oct 2007 when I joined Spectrum Consultants taking care of the "Campus Reach" program. LinkedIn and Social Media was not very popular back then. But when a colleague who was searching for IT Director for a US based Networking major for their Bangalore office needed help, I decided to use the power of Google rather than existing databases as the skills required weren't the run of the mill kind. That is how I stumbled upon LinkedIn.
The first thing I did was to connect to my school and college mates and build an impromptu network. Since most of my friends were in the Gulf region and the United States, my initial connections allowed me search a wider network of professional than would have been possible otherwise..And it was a chance connection with one of my friend's friend who as looking for a change and added me to his network for the same that I was able to identify the right candidate for the client..Luckily the candidate too was looking for a change and it did not take much effort to convince the candidate to leave his current job and relocate back to Bangalore. Over the next few days late night calls and email exchanges were the norm as the client had 10 to 12 rounds of interviews and wanted to close the position very quickly.
It was an interesting phase as we had 2 interested parties wanting to close the deal asap and since it was a senior position it also meant good revenue for the team. The candidate did not have the usual concerns about the job or the company. Rather he wanted to know if his kids would get admission in Bangalore as it was the middle of the year and he had heard that it can be a real pain searching for seats in Bangalore. But he was eventually convinced and he took the offer and joined the company.
The success of this closure encouraged me to invest my time and efforts in building a very strong network of professional contacts from across the globe. From CEO's to aspiring freshers, for the next 5+ years I constantly added people to my network knowing very well that it was not the number of connections that mattered but who you knew would help in finding the right candidate for my clients. But eventually as I added more and more connections I realized that there were still millions out there waiting to be connected.
But in Oct 2013, after repeated invitation increases from LinkedIn, I was told that I could no longer send invites. And I stood at 9770 connections just short of the last lap of trying to reach 10K before Dec 2013. It was like running the marathon and getting cramps in the last lap. I realized that everything had an end or a stagnation point (I still hope that LinkedIn would grant me more invites :)). But as I look back I am happy to be connected with so many people..some of whom I have been able to help professionally make an important career change that would alter not only their lives but also of their families. But what I have gained is much more. The vast experience that has been shared by all which would have not been possible otherwise.
Wishing all a very happy year ahead, professionally and personally..I continue my journey through LinkedIn.
The first thing I did was to connect to my school and college mates and build an impromptu network. Since most of my friends were in the Gulf region and the United States, my initial connections allowed me search a wider network of professional than would have been possible otherwise..And it was a chance connection with one of my friend's friend who as looking for a change and added me to his network for the same that I was able to identify the right candidate for the client..Luckily the candidate too was looking for a change and it did not take much effort to convince the candidate to leave his current job and relocate back to Bangalore. Over the next few days late night calls and email exchanges were the norm as the client had 10 to 12 rounds of interviews and wanted to close the position very quickly.
It was an interesting phase as we had 2 interested parties wanting to close the deal asap and since it was a senior position it also meant good revenue for the team. The candidate did not have the usual concerns about the job or the company. Rather he wanted to know if his kids would get admission in Bangalore as it was the middle of the year and he had heard that it can be a real pain searching for seats in Bangalore. But he was eventually convinced and he took the offer and joined the company.
The success of this closure encouraged me to invest my time and efforts in building a very strong network of professional contacts from across the globe. From CEO's to aspiring freshers, for the next 5+ years I constantly added people to my network knowing very well that it was not the number of connections that mattered but who you knew would help in finding the right candidate for my clients. But eventually as I added more and more connections I realized that there were still millions out there waiting to be connected.
But in Oct 2013, after repeated invitation increases from LinkedIn, I was told that I could no longer send invites. And I stood at 9770 connections just short of the last lap of trying to reach 10K before Dec 2013. It was like running the marathon and getting cramps in the last lap. I realized that everything had an end or a stagnation point (I still hope that LinkedIn would grant me more invites :)). But as I look back I am happy to be connected with so many people..some of whom I have been able to help professionally make an important career change that would alter not only their lives but also of their families. But what I have gained is much more. The vast experience that has been shared by all which would have not been possible otherwise.
Wishing all a very happy year ahead, professionally and personally..I continue my journey through LinkedIn.
2 comments:
All the best. May you soon cross the 10k milestone here as well as many fold in your business.
Thank you for the wishes..I have moved the milestone higher this new year...I plan to meet or interact directly with the all my contacts and see how I can make a visibly positive change.
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